Stabilizer.



McMYERS.

STABILIZER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY31. 191?.

Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

2 suns-swan 1.

A TTORNEYS R. McMYERS.

STABILIZER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3|. 1911.

1 ,2'79, 1 33 Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES IIJVENTOI? AMc/l ew' ATTORNEYS .water craft, and theprime object of mjyin yention is to provide a stabilizing means ns}; volving agyroscope and means to shift. the

RI HAR MMYERS, or nnmenronr, CONNECTICUT.

STA BILIZER.

To all/whom may concern:

Be it lmown that I, RIo ARD :MoM rERs, a-citizen of the United, States, and a ramdent of Bridgeport, in'the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented 'a new and Improved Stabilizer, of which the. following is a full, clear, and exact description.

' My invention relates to ais'tabilizer aeroplanes, hydroplanes, and"'other air a f center of gravity of the vessel by displacing a porton of the mass thereof through'the medium of the gyroscopicaction upon a lateral tilting of the craft whereby to maintain stability.

Another object of the in an improved manner for, facilitating and making, effective: the actuating "function of the gyroscopeon stabilizing means.

Other ob ects of the invention-aswell-as the, advantages thereof and-"the nature of the means entering into the preferred embodiment of the invention will appear: as the description proceeds."

Reference is to be had to the accompany ing drawings forming a part of this specification in "which similar reference char-.-

=acters indicate corresponding parts infallthe views, it being understood that" the drawings are merely illustrative'fof one exv secured to the hub 28 which is suitably keyed ample of the inventlon. 4

Figure 1 is a front elevation-of ail-am of the aeroplane, 'the'view'being onjian en-. 'larged scale;

Fig. 3 is a transverse illustration l have shown my .invention .applied to an aeroplane .,10+which, it wille be*understood,"mayfbe of any" approved constructiom; f, 4 i I 3Lp01ft1 11 f of the mass at opposite sides of the approx mate center of the .aeroplaneithrough the action of the gyroscope upon a tilting of the The meansflwhereby to dlsjplace Specification of Letters Patent.

are dlsposedadj acent to one side of the lscopie-wheel- 21- and in order to balance the structure l provide diametrically opposite "the shaft '25 and the gears driven thereby, I idler elements 25 to SF-corresponding with vertical sectioni-on; the line 33,Fig. 2; 1v.

Fig. 4 is a plan view ofthe gyroscope'and' portions of the elements actuated thereby; 1 Fig. 5 is adetail in cross section on'the" line 555,-Fig.2, For the purpose of -wheel about "axis ",p'e 'thereto.'--"'In operation therefore the wheel plane or other craft, consists preferably of weights 12 positioned at opposlte sides of the center and adapted to have guided moveand being pivotally connected as at 15 with pposite sides of a frame, designated, generllv bythe numeral 16, and which frame 1s g yroscope and' its drive gear. -The frame 16 has hollow trunnions '17 which turn in fixed bearings 18, said hearings in the present examplebeing formed on standards 19,-the base 20 of which is suitably secured as by bolts 20 to the frame work of the v 'aeroplane 10. invention is to mount the gyroscope and its appurtenances A. gyrosoopic wheel 21 is mounted on a that the frame 16 will be subject to the gyroscopic' action of the wheel 20.

The gyroscope is driven by the resistance of thea-irorwater fOl'fWlT iOll purpose a fan 24 is provided, mounted on a shaft 25, the axis of which is transverse to the axis of rotation of the gyroscopic wheel 21. An internally toothed gear wheel or armular rack 26 is secured to the shaft 25, the wheel beingsustained-by conically disposed arms 27 to said shaft 25. A pinion '29 is in mesh j with the internal gear.26 and is mounted on a shaft 30 onthe opposite end of which is The-gear wheel 26 and the pinions 29, 31

gyrothe elements 25 to 31. The shafts 30and 30 are mounted in suitable bearings provided on standards 33 or other parts appurtenant to the frame 16. v

, It'will be seen that the frame or housing I 16 may turn through an angle about the axis "endlcu ar Patented Sept. 1'7, 1918.

Application filed May 31, 1917. Serial no. 171,896.

"referablyjiinjthe'form of a housing for the g Ijvertical spindle 22, the upper and lower ends 'fof which turnin center bearings '23 which advantageously are in the form of screw 21 being revolved by thepressure developed by the headway =of the craft, should the craft. tilt laterally and thereby correspondingly tilt the weights 12, the constant posigyroscope, the center of gravity of the ves' sel 1s moved due to the displacement of por- .tions of the mass as represented by the weights.

I wish to state in conclusion that although the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the mechanical details here n illustrated, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a stabilizer, a gyroscope, a frame in which the gyroscope is mounted. to revolve, means to rockably mount said frame to turn through an angle about an axis transverse v to the axis of rotation of the gyroscope,

shiftable weights'adapted to be mounted on a craft .at opposite sides of the gyroscope, and means connecting said frame and weights to move said weights transversely to the position of the gyroscope by the rocking of said frame.

2. The combination with aerial or other craft, of shiftable. weight thereon at ,op-

posite sides of the vertical center of the craft, a gyroscope mounted at the approximate center of the craft, a frame in which said gyrdscope is mounted to revolve, said frame being roekable through 'an angle about an axis transverse to, the axis of rol tation of the gyroscope, connections between the said weights and frame, a fan adaptedtobe driven by the fluid pressure developed by the headway of-the craft and co-axial with the said frame, and drive con.-

nections between the said fan and the gyroscope.

3. In a stabilizer, a frame having hollow trunnions, fixed hearings in which the said trunnions are journaled, a ,shaft coaxial with said trunnions and turning in one of said bearings, means to drivesaid shaft, a gyroscope in said frame and mounted turn about a vertical axis, means Within said frame establishing driving connection be .tween said shaft and the gyroscope, a

weight shiftable relatively to the position of the gyroscope, and connections between said frame and said weights.

RICHARD MCMYERS. 

